


Comeuppance

by HeavenlyDusk



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Gen, Humor, Natsume Takashi Protection Squad, POV Multiple, Protectiveness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 04:41:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28932696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeavenlyDusk/pseuds/HeavenlyDusk
Summary: Matoba gets arrested.
Relationships: Matoba Seiji & Natsume Takashi, Natsume Takashi & Everyone
Comments: 22
Kudos: 261





	Comeuppance

**Author's Note:**

> This is actually titled "matoba gets arrested LMAOOO"  
> I'm rereading the manga and you know, I think he needs to get arrested just once. As a treat.
> 
> There are like two swear words in this but that's it.

_i._

The fifth time the creepy man in the eyepatch shows up to terrify Natsume after school, Atsushi has _had it_.

He calls the cops.

Nishimura is nearly in tears as he tells him how proud he is. Atsushi can’t help his own wide smile when he has the pleasure of watching the cops take the man away.

Natsume doesn't even notice. (Thank god for Sasada distracting him.)

_ii._

Shuuichi almost doesn’t believe it when he hears about it. It’s thirdhand information, but also the latest gossip in the exorcist circle almost as soon as it happens. Considering it only happened the day before, that’s pretty impressive, but exorcists _were_ always a bunch of gossips.

He goes looking, and it turns out to be true: Matoba Seiji got arrested and is currently sitting in a holding cell.

The reasons _why_ are mixed, some people saying that he wasn’t being subtle enough, that a normal person saw something they shouldn’t have and freaked out. Others claim he committed an actual crime unrelated to exorcism at all. It’s when Shuuichi hears about the high schooler rumor that he thinks he understands what happened. He never thought Natsume would actually set the cops on him, but it would be great if he did.

He calls him just to make sure.

“ _Natori-san? Is everything alright?_ ” Natsume asks as he picks up the phone.

“No, everything’s alright,” Shuuichi says. “I just have a question for you.”

“ _What is it?_ ”

“Did you get Matoba arrested yesterday?”

“… _Did I_ what _?_ ”

_iii._

“What happened?” Nyanko-sensei asks as Takashi returns to his bedroom.

“Matoba-san got arrested,” Takashi answers, still in shock.

There’s silence for five seconds, and then Nyanko-sensei starts laughing and doesn’t stop for another two minutes.

_iv._

Takashi makes a beeline for Tanuma at school as soon as he finds him, because he can’t imagine who else would have called the police. “Tanuma!” he says furiously, grabbing his arm and tugging him into an empty hallway.

Tanuma blinks at him, shocked. “Uh, Natsume?”

“Did you _call the cops_ on Matoba-san?”

“Call the—no? He’s involved with all the youkai stuff, so I thought it would be safer if I didn’t.” Tanuma says. Takashi stares at him, not sure if he can believe him, but he looks genuinely puzzled.

He sighs and his shoulders drop. “Well, then, I’m not sure who else it could have been. Natori-san called me and asked if I was the one who did it. I’m sure he was released by now, but I’m worried…”

“Is this really such a bad thing?” Tanuma asks. “Even if he does want you to join him, he could be less… er… He could be less _forceful_ about it.”

“Well…” It _would_ be nice if he finally stopped, but… “Still, if Matoba-san—”

“’Matoba?’” Takashi jumps and turns as Nishimura speaks up from behind him, Kitamoto beside him as always. “Is that the guy with the eyepatch?”

“Yes,” Tanuma answers before Takashi can say anything.

“Oh, yeah, Acchan totally called the cops on him!” Nishimura grins, hands folded behind his head. Kitamoto has his own proud smile on his face.

“ _What?_ Kitamoto!” Takashi exclaims.

“What ‘what’? That guy was a creep, Natsume,” Kitamoto says.

“But—you can’t just—I mean—”

“He’s right,” Tanuma says. “Even if the arrest didn’t stick, you can still get a restraining order.”

“Ooh, that’s a good idea!” Nishimura says gleefully.

“Nishimura! Tanuma!” Takashi says, distressed. Who knows what Matoba do if this made him angry? He doesn’t want his friends getting involved with them, and Tanuma should know this.

Kitamoto pats his shoulder, utterly unsympathetic.

_v._

Tooru doesn’t really know what’s going on when Tsuji appears out of nowhere to grasp Natsume’s shoulders, looking somehow both shaken and decisive.

“Natsume,” he says seriously. “If you’re having problems with someone, remember that we’re all here for you. We’d do anything we can to help you out. I’m glad Kitamoto-kun did something, but talk to us if it ever happens again.” Natsume looks bewildered by the attention.

“What?” he asks.

“Nishimura told us about the stalker,” Tsuji says.

“ _Stalker?_ ” Tooru exclaims. “Natsume, you never told me about a stalker!” She wonders if it’s related to youkai. It probably is. It’s always related to youkai, and who knows what kind of fanatics are out there? Natsume is definitely the type to attract youkai fanatics who want to use him to find youkai or something. She makes a mental note to find Tanuma later and ask, because if it’s spread across the school already, Tanuma would definitely know.

“He wasn’t a stalker!” Natsume sputters.

“But you knew who I was talking about,” Tsuji says sagely. “Anyway, that’s all I wanted to say. Seriously, Natsume, if you’re having trouble, tell someone. We’ll help you out. And Kitamoto told us what the guy looked like, so we’ll make sure to keep an eye out.”

“You really shouldn’t—”

“That sounds great, Tsuji-kun!” Tooru interrupts, smiling brightly. “Do I have you on LINE, by the way?”

In Tsuji’s eyes, she can see the same protective glint that everyone in the group gets when it comes to Natsume. He nods to her. Without needing to say anything, they both understand what she’d need to talk to him about. “No, but we can fix that.”

“Great!”

Natsume runs off while they’re distracted, but she doesn’t mind. It wouldn’t solve anything to try and get answers out of him, anyway.

They have a group chat for this purpose.

_vi._

“Your friends are right, Takashi-kun,” Touko-san says. Next to Kaname, Nishimura quietly cheers, until Kitamoto quiets him with a hand over his mouth. “In fact, we should get that restraining order right now. I can’t _believe_ no one told me an older man was _stalking_ you.”

“T-Touko-san…” Natsume says weakly.

“Now, come on in, everyone. I’ll make snacks while you’re all getting settled.” Touko-san ushers them all inside, obviously refusing to hear any of Natsume’s attempts at an argument.

Kaname rests a hand on his shoulder as he passes him. “Let it go, Natsume. We’re all just worried about you, and she’s especially worried.”

“But…” Natsume murmurs.

Taki, on his other side, smiles gently. “Don’t worry about it so much, okay? I know you said he’s some big, influential exorcist, but he can’t do anything when there’s so many of us watching out.”

Natsume, Kaname thinks, doesn’t know exactly how many people are watching out. It’s not just their main group—him and Taki, and Kitamoto and Nishimura. It’s also Tsuji and Sasada, and their parents, and some of the neighbors. Even Shibata, who doesn’t live anywhere near them, has heard about it. (Against his will, but the guy’s not so much of a jerk that he’d not want to know how Natsume is doing.)

Kaname is silently glad for Kitamoto and Nishimura. They don’t know the true story—and maybe no one does, except for Natsume and Ponta—but they’re still looking out for him. Kaname is too used to letting Natsume take the lead, believing him to know best about youkai matters. As much as he hates to admit it, he never would have called the cops.

Natsume still looks hesitant, but he lets them pull him into the house where Nishimura is calling for them to come sit already.

“Let’s focus on studying tonight,” Kaname says. “You can worry about this tomorrow.”

“I think that’s pretty much impossible,” Natsume says dryly. Kaname only smiles.

_vii._

Takashi has long gone to bed when Shigeru finally gets to talk to Touko about this.

“A stalker,” Shigeru says in disbelief, shaking his head.

“I heard from Natori-kun,” Touko says. Her hands are shaking where they’re clasped in front of her. “He knows the man—Matoba Seiji. They went to high school together, but I guess he’s always been a suspicious sort. Natori-kun has been trying to run interference between them for a while.”

“Ah, Natori-kun. That’s good.” Shigeru sighs with some relief. Sometimes he’s not sure what to think of the actor, but he admits he’s a good man, and he’s good with Takashi. He brings out a side to him that Shigeru doesn’t see often. “That… Matoba, though. What does he want with Takashi-kun?”

“Nothing good, I’m sure,” Touko says stiffly. She has this fierce look to her that’s angry and determined and as beautiful as always. “I want to respect Takashi-kun’s wishes, but I really think a restraining order would be best.”

“Me, too. Takashi doesn’t deserve this.”

They’ve already made so much progress, slowly coaxing Takashi out of his shell and making sure he feels comfortable in their home. It terrifies him what this man could do if they left him alone.

Touko reaches forward to hold his hands tightly between hers. “We’ll protect him,” she promises quietly. “Kitamoto-kun did well.”

_viii._

There’s another man standing by the school gates, asking for Natsume, and Satoru _does not like this_. This guy isn’t familiar in his stupid hat and dumb glasses, but with everything going on with that other guy—who, luckily, hasn’t made another appearance just yet—Satoru is justifiably wary of strange adults wanting to talk to Natsume.

“Are you in cahoots with the eyepatch guy?” Satoru asks suspiciously. Kitamoto hovers behind him protectively, and he doesn’t have to look to know that he’s probably outright glaring. “We’ll call the cops on you too if we have to.”

The man doesn’t look cowed, only letting out a slightly surprised laugh, and he shakes his head. “No, no. I’m a family friend.”

That doesn’t make Satoru feel much better. He crosses his arms. “I don’t trust _that_ either.”

“The only family that matters are the Fujiwaras,” Kitamoto adds.

“Oh?” That is _not_ a good ‘oh’, though it’s not a threatening ‘oh’. It sounds like a word used right before someone starts an interrogation. Satoru narrows his eyes.

Before either of them can continue this battle of wills, he hears Kitamoto say, “Oh, Natsume.”

In the next moment, Natsume chokes out, “What are _you_ doing here?”

Satoru turns around to look between him and the older man suspiciously, but Natsume doesn’t sound or look _scared_ , the way he did whenever that eyepatch guy came around. He mostly sounds irritated, which Satoru is always surprised to hear. He’s never heard it directed towards him or any of their other friends—not seriously, at any rate.

The man smiles and Satoru’s jaw drops as he takes off his hat, holding it to his chest, and reveals himself to be _Natori fucking Shuuichi._ “Is it so bad that I wanted to see how you were doing?”

“This is all _really_ unnecessary,” Natsume says. “Can we all just forget about Matoba now? Please?”

“Absolutely not,” Satoru and Kitamoto chime in tandem, with _Natori fucking Shuuichi_ nodding along.

“You have the community in a riot,” Natori says. “It’s quite funny, actually. I assume it was one of you?” He looks at Satoru and Kitamoto with appraising eyes. Satoru feels his face flush in embarrassment.

“That was me,” Kitamoto says, still wary but not as wary as before seeing as Natume doesn’t look tense at all.

“Good job,” Natori praises. “Matoba had it coming. Teenagers are really something else these days, huh?”

“You knew him?” Kitamoto asks.

“Somewhat. We don’t like each other.”

“And you’re not stalking Natsume,” Satoru clarifies. “Like, just to be clear, because you’re kind of my favorite actor and it would suck if I had to stop watching your movies. And I would, and I’d tell everyone to stop watching your movies, too. I can’t like an actor who’s creepy with one of my best friends.”

“I’m not a stalker,” Natori says, and seems to mean it.

“Nishimura!” Natsume exclaims.

Satoru nods firmly. “Okay, cool. That’s all I needed to know.” Then he grins and throws his arm around Natsume’s shoulder. “Whew! _Natsume_ , how could you not _tell_ me you were friends with Natori Shuuichi?” He gasps. “Autograph! I need—” he lets go of him to start digging through his bag for a pen and paper— “autograph!”

Natsume shakes his head, baffled, and Natori laughs.

_ix._

Touko sees the man by their house as the sun is starting to set. She recognizes him immediately from the kids’ descriptions, but the eyepatch is really striking anyway. Takashi is home, upstairs in his bedroom, and she hopes he stays up there he doesn’t have to see that the strange man is back. At her feet, Nyankichi hisses as he too sees the man.

“Excuse me,” she says faux politely as she makes her way to the man. She stays on her side of the gate, and Nyankichi follows right behind, hopping on top of the gate to glare directly.

“Yes?” the man says. Matoba, if she remembers correctly.

“Do you have somewhere to be? I can give you directions, but I’m afraid it’s getting quite late.”

Matoba stares at her with his one uncovered eye, something unreadable behind his gaze, but she refuses to falter. She has seen a lot in her years, and she won’t let this young man—this young man who _stalked her son_ —intimidate her.

Then his gaze flicks to Nyankichi for a split second and he smiles, but it looks more like a grimace. “No. No, my apologies. I’ll be on my way now.”

“Good.” Touko smiles sharply. “The next time I see you, I hope it’s to agree to the restraining order. Please leave. _Now_.”

She only relaxes once Matoba is out of sight, and she lets out a slow breath. Nyankichi settles down too, shaking out his fur. She pats his head.

“Good job, neko-chan,” Touko says warmly. “We scared him off well! Don’t tell Takashi-kun, okay? We don’t want to make him worry.” She feels a bit silly telling the kitty this, but it makes her feel better when Nyankichi moves his head as though to nod. Her smile feels much better on her face now.

“Oh! I was making dinner!” she gasps in realization. “I hope I didn’t burn it!” She hurries back inside and Nyankichi follows close behind.

Dinner turns out perfectly.

_x._

Seiji thinks he might be in shock. He can’t believe this happened. Natori is no help, having only called to laugh at him and say, “This is what you get for following a teenager around so much!”

He’s going to need to do something _drastic_ to put his reputation back together. He doesn’t know how it got out, but the whole exorcist community knows that some random, _normal_ teenager called the cops on him and made him spend a whole afternoon _and_ night in a holding cell. And now Natsume’s mother is threatening him with a restraining order. _Him._

Normal people are so _annoying_.

“So,” Nanase says, apropos of nothing, “what was jail like?”

“ _Don’t_ ,” he says sharply. Nanase stops talking, but he knows that smile on her face. Seiji, uncharacteristically, scowls.

That Natsume is _trouble_ , and it’s starting to be a lot less fun than he thought it was.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this was fun! Just some messing with Matoba, as he deserves. And of course, giving Natsume the love _he_ deserves.
> 
> You can bother me about my fics on [tumblr](https://heavenly-dusk.tumblr.com/)


End file.
